Sports

Dale Douglass talks golf, new foundation, at tournament in his name

Former PGA Tour golfer back in Morgan for Dale Douglass Classic

By Brandon Boles

Brush News-Tribune

Posted:
07/31/2018 10:37:12 AM MDT

Updated:
07/31/2018 10:37:38 AM MDT

Dale Douglass (left) is pictured with the recipient of a scholarship named in his honor, Brush graduate Alec Mickey (right), at the Dale Douglass Classic on Sunday at Quail Dunes Golf Course in Fort Morgan. (Brandon Boles / Brush News-Tribune)

Memorabilia from Dale Douglass' professional golf career, including the jacket he received for winning the 1986 U.S. Senior Open Championship, was put on display in the clubhouse at Quail Dunes Golf Course during the Dale Douglass Classic on Sunday. (Brandon Boles / Brush News-Tribune)

Fort Morgan has a special place in the heart of Dale Douglass.

The former Fort Morgan and University of Colorado golfer that went on to have a professional career paid a visit over the weekend to take part in the Dale Douglass Classic, an annual summer tournament named after the 1986 U.S. Senior Open champion.

"I always enjoy coming to Fort Morgan," Douglass said.

The Dale Douglass Classic was played on Saturday and Sunday at Quail Dunes Golf Course. The tournament featured two-person teams competing for the best scores. In addition to the tournament, money was raised to go towards scholarships given out every year by Douglass to high school golfers from Morgan County, which has been happening since the early 1980s.

"I hope the tournament can grow. We're going to try and find a way to do that," Douglass said. "We want to make it a bigger event. It doesn't necessarily have to use my name, but I'll always support it."

Douglass made a special appearance at the tournament and even participated. He said the course is in better shape compared to when he was growing up in Fort Morgan, and although his scores are not what they used to be, he felt good about getting out and playing during the weekend.

"I've lost a lot of distance, so the holes I use to play well here I don't play as well now," Douglass said. "It's nice to see how the course has matured. It's in very nice condition today."

Professional golf career

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While all the golfers taking part in the Dale Douglass Classic were focused on how they would play, many were also keeping an eye on the scores from the British Open Championship that was finishing up on Sunday.

All eyes were on Tiger Woods, who led the field at one point and was challenging to win his first major since 2008. He would finish tied for sixth place after shooting even in the final round, coming up three strokes short of first place.

Today, Douglass says that one of Woods' rivals, Phil Mickelson, is his favorite golfer to watch on the tour.

"I don't know Phil (Mickelson) very well, but I've met him, and I would say he is my favorite," Douglass said. "He looks like he's having fun every time he's out there."

The golfers competing on the tour today, he said, face more challenges to qualify to get on the tour than what he endured during his professional career.

For Douglass, the thought of playing professionally came early. One moment he says is linked to the decision came with a discussion with his father.

"I was riding with my dad some place, and I was looking at some scores in a golf magazine," Douglass explained. "I saw these guys were shooting 70, and I said to myself that I could shoot 70. I told my dad, and didn't think I could do that, but I figured at that time, after college, I was going to play the tour."

While difficult to get on the PGA Tour, Douglass was able to get on in 1960. He would go on to win six tournaments during his career. When he ventured to the Senior PGA Tour, the success continued with 11 tournament victories. The biggest win of his career was the U.S. Senior Open championship in 1986.

Making his win in that tournament even more impressive was the fact that he was in a car accident just weeks before.

"I got hit and suffered a whiplash," Douglass said. "I was taking strong medicine because of that. I still did enjoy that experience... Someone asked me a few weeks later who I beat in the U.S. Senior Open, and I told him that I beat them all."

The red jacket he won from the U.S. Senior Open was put on display in the clubhouse at Quail Dunes Golf Course over the weekend, along with other memorabilia to reflect on his professional career.

"Being a professional golfer is a real honor," Douglass said. "It's an honor to have been able to do this, and I'm very fortunate for that."

The U.S. Senior Open may be the biggest championship he won, but Douglass said there were plenty more memorable moments for him in his professional career.

"Any golf tournament that I played well in was fun," Douglass said. "That's what it's all about."

New foundation starting

Like so many times in his career, Douglass had to fight and work his way into contention in a tournament.

That same fighting spirit is what is driving him to start a new foundation, and to take on a fight even more important to him.

Douglass lost his wife, Joyce, to Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). The disease is recognized as an uncommon brain disorder that affects movement, control of walking and balance, swallowing, vision, mood and behavior, and thinking. It is a rare disease impacting an average of 20,000 Americans, and there is no cure for it.

It is for those reasons that Douglass is beginning a new foundation to raise awareness and to find a cure specifically for PSP.

"Most money raised to fight disease goes to Alzheimer's, and then somewhere down the line you have money towards PSP that also includes Parkinson's," Douglass said. "I want our money to go towards PSP primarily. There's not enough money that goes to it, and it's a devastating disease."

Douglass says the foundation will be partnered with the Mayo Clinic.

"I don't know if I'll be around to see it happen, but that's what I want," Douglass said.

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